


Piercings and Pastels

by Vampiricalthorns



Series: Solangelo One-Shots [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: High School AU, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, pastel!nico, punk!will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2018-09-20 21:50:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9517616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiricalthorns/pseuds/Vampiricalthorns
Summary: Will has just moved schools, and the student assigned to show him around is his complete opposite. In which Will stabs himself with his piercings and Nico wears light blue skinny jeans.





	1. Chapter 1

Will was relieved. He had been waiting for what felt like eternity for the stupid alarm telling him to wake up. Today was supposed to be his first day of school, and for some reason, he felt _nervous_.

“Finally,” Will muttered, tapping his phone screen repeatedly until the noise of Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance stopped playing. He sat up and ruffled his dyed, dark red hair as he looked around his room, band posters covering his voice. His guitar was sitting in the corner in his room, right next to his desk, which was filled with books, random pictures, his camera, a couple CDs and a cup of coffee from yesterday.

That was his whole room so far. The rest of it was in carton boxes stacked on top of each other. They had moved into the apartment only a week earlier, and he hadn’t had much time to unpack. (read: hadn’t had the motivation to.)

‘ _Better get started,_ ’ Will thought to himself as he got out of bed and stretched, finding a t-shirt- a Fall-Out Boy one. He pulled them on and started to look around for a pair of skinny jeans. After rummaging through a box for a couple minutes, he finally found a pair.

When he realised that it was his favourite pair of washed out black skinny jeans, he let a small smile tug at his lips.

‘ _Time to go stab myself,_ ’ Will thought as he made his way into the small bathroom he shared with his sister, Kayla.”

One glance in the mirror and Will let out a sigh. His hair looked _bad_. Messy. And it wasn’t the cool type of messy either. It was a full-on messy bunch of bed hair. ‘ _Let’s do something about that, shall we._ ’

~*~

After trying to not stab both of his ears and his bottom lip and then doing so anyway, Will made his way into the kitchen, stopping when he saw Kayla. ‘ _Time for her to first judge the living shit out of me, and then be nice to me, like making coffee or something.’_

“Will, cut out the piercings, please. You don’t fit them, and they’re definitely not appropriate for school. Weren’t you supposed to be a doctor when you grow up? You can’t help people if you keep looking like that. I’m sorry, brother, but that’s the horrible truth you have to face,” Kayla said as she turned around and faced Will.

“Cut out babying me, Kayla. I can take care of myself. I paid for the piercings, I paid for the hair dye. I pay for my clothes, and as long as I don’t get into trouble, I’ll be fine,” Will sighed as he poured himself a big cup of coffee.

“I know that you can take care of yourself. But I still worry about you sometimes,” Kayla said as she sat down across from Will by the table. “Do you know what classes you have, or do you get your schedule once you come to school?”

Will pulled out a sheet of paper that contained the email he had gotten from his new school. “It says that I’ll meet at the student counsellor’s office and I’ll get my schedule. I will also be paired up with another student that shares all or most of my classes. I’m supposed to meet there at eight.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” Kayla said, checking her social media accounts on her phone. “I don’t have to be at work before nine thirty, so I can leave and lock the apartment after you, okay?”

Will nodded, neatly tucking the paper back into one of his notebooks- black, with the names of various bands written on them in silver and gold ink. “I guess I should be off soon then. It’s already 7:30.”

~*~

“Here you go,” The counsellor, Mr Jones, Will believed his name was, handed him his schedule. “The student I paired you up with should be here any minute.”

A minute later, Will heard a knock on the door to the office. The door opened and in came a boy. The stranger had dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin and freckles. But what made the boy a little unusual was his choice of clothes and accessories.

The boy was wearing light blue skinny jeans and a lavender t-shirt with skulls and flowers on it. On top of the shirt was a black jacket and on the boy’s feet were light brown boots.

“Mr Jones, you told me to meet you now?” The pastel boy said as he closed the door behind him. Good gods, the boy’s voice was _amazing_. It was soft and light, but at the same time slightly deep.

“Good morning, Nico. I have a small job for you. This is Will Solace. He’s a new student, and I want you to look after and guide him the first week that he’s here. Would that be a problem for you?”

Will could feel Nico studying him before sending Mr Jones a small smile. “Of course. It won’t be a problem.”

“Good. You two should be off. Class starts in 10 minutes, and you need to stop by your lockers to get your books,” Mr Jones said before focusing his attention back on the computer screen. “Good luck with your classes.”

Will sent Nico a small smile, hoisting his backpack up on one shoulder before standing up. “Well, should we get going then?”

~*~

During class, Will’s gaze would often move from the blackboard to Nico. There was just something about that boy that intrigued Will. Maybe it was his looks, maybe his style, maybe his personality. Will wasn’t sure yet, but something about Nico made Will want to be his friend, or something more. They had only just met after all.

 

 

 


	2. Building the relationship

“And therefore, the sum of this equation will be …”

 

Will sighed, looking down at the notes he had so nicely drawn in red and black. Math class had never been of his favourites, but he was well aware that it was a subject he wanted to be good at. He did care a lot about school, even if he happened to be punk as fuck and wasn’t hesitant to have slightly questionable style choices. Will knew that his sister Kayla wanted him to have the best shot at life possible, and that was why she kept criticising his clothing.

 

“Mr Solace, are you paying attention?”

 

Will looked up sheepishly. “What?”

 

“I asked you if you could be so nice to tell us the answer on the blackboard.” The teacher was glaring down on him, and Will could have a fair guess that he was not too happy with Will’s inattention.

 

Will looked at him, and then to the board. Realising he had not solved the equation, he caught Nico’s look and peeked into his notebook for the answer. “X is 8, and Y is 4.5.”

 

The teacher looked at him for a minute before nodding. “That’s correct Mr Solace, but please refrain from spacing out in my classes in the future.”

 

* * *

 

Will ruffled his hair and looked up at the big Starbucks symbol hanging over the entrance door. He took a deep breath and walked inside, being ambushed by the warm, coffee-scented air as opposed to the slightly chillier outside weather that did _not_ smell like coffee. He had agreed earlier that week to meet Nico at the Starbucks so that they could work through their ridiculous amounts of math homework. Will was taking a fair guess that their teacher was not terribly happy with how inattentive his class actually was to his teaching.

 

“Hi, Will! Over here!” Will heard someone call from further inside the store. He looked around for the black mop of wavy hair that belonged to his now best friend. Today, Nico was dressed in pastel galaxy leggings, the same brown boots as he had worn the last couple weeks and an oversized pink knit sweater.

 

He slung himself into the chair opposite Nico. “What’s up?”

 

Nico smiled- the type of smile where he closed his eyes and held his hands up to his chest as if he was about to flap them. Will thought that was oddly cute. “Not much. Work’s drowning us as usual, but at least that’s an excuse to be productive.”

 

Will nodded. “Should I go get something to drink while you figure out exactly what we should do today and what we can wait with for later in the week?”

 

Having Nico’s nod of approval, Will put his bag down and got up. Placing himself at the back of the line, he looked over at where Nico was reading in his planner while pushing a strand of hair behind his ear. The purple hair clips didn’t look like they were there for anything than decoration. _Cute_.

 

He had only known Nico for a little under two weeks now, but it felt like they had been friends for way longer than that. He was like a missing childhood friend Will had only just met again, but he knew that was impossible. Will let a small smile slip as he looked up at the menu for what to get. Nico seemed like a hot chocolate person. Or maybe a Frappuccino.

 

“One Coffee Mocha and one Hot Chocolate please,” he told the barista, who nodded and then told him the sum of what he had to pay. After paying, he stepped to the side and looked out of the window.

 

They were just a couple weeks into the school year, but Will didn’t feel overworked like he usually did. Will had easily fallen into the routine of working along with Nico, who had surprisingly good control of schoolwork and when stuff was due.

 

“What did you get me?” Nico asked curiously when Will came back to the table and put down two cups. Will looked at him, suddenly slightly anxious that he had gotten the wrong thing for his friend. “You didn’t specify what you wanted, so I just got you hot chocolate. Was that okay?”

 

Nico looked surprised for the fraction of a second before grabbing the cup with both of his hands and smiling up at Will- the same adorable scrunched-up eyes smile that made Will’s legs just the tiniest bit weaker. _No, we will not fall for this person now, William, even though you already did, you dumb fuck_.

 

“Thank you, Will,” Nico said earnestly. “I thought you were going to get me coffee, but hot chocolate is just as okay. Really. I enjoy hot chocolate too.”

 

Will sat down again and thought for a moment before pushing his cup of coffee over to where Nico was sitting. “You can have a sip or two if you need caffeine. That’s really okay. I don’t mind sharing at all.”

 

* * *

 

“It’s a nice apartment you got,” Nico commented after Will had locked himself into his and Kayla’s apartment. It was later in the day, and Will had invited Nico over for food and video games- if Nico was up to video games of course. In the back of his mind, Will was very well aware of all the boxes still unpacked in their apartment.

 

“Thanks,” Will replied, throwing his keys into the bowl on the small table they kept in the hallway. It was filled with what looked like Kayla’s asthma medication (Will knew she kept one in her bag too, so she was good, a pack of chewing gum and what looked like post:it notes and pens. “It’s a bit messy since we only moved in here like three weeks ago.”

 

Nico shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. It’s not like my home is pristine at all times too. We’re all human, Will.”

 

Will snorted and flashed Nico a creepy grin, one that made his lip piercing glint in the hallway light. “Are you sure about that, di Angelo? For all you know, I could be a demon preparing to steal and devour your soul.”

 

Feeling accomplished that he had made Nico laugh, Will made his way into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He hadn’t had enough to drink that day, and to be entirely honest, he was aware that his head was not too happy about that. “Do you want a glass of water too, Nico?”

 

He turned around when he heard the sound of soft socks moving over the laminate floor. There was Nico, hands hidden inside the oversized sweater and dragging his feet across the floor. His feet- clad with soft purple socks. _What an adorable person_.

 

He didn’t hear Nico’s answer. “What did you say again?”

 

Nico laughed again. “No, it’s okay, Will. Yes, I would like a glass of water, thank you.”

 

Will turned around again and grabbed a glass, filling it with water from the tap, trying his best to hide his blush. He was sure that the water _was_ safe to drink.

 

“Thank you for helping me out with homework today,” Will mentioned as he handed Nico the glass. “I’m a horrible procrastinator unless someone kicks my butt the entire time I’m working.”

 

He put down his glass next to the sink and looked at Nico. “I need to go to the bathroom, but I will be right back. If you want, you can wait in my room. Second to the right down the hallway.”

 

Having Nico’s nod of approval, he left the kitchen, walked down the hallway and into the bathroom, sinking down against the wall with a sigh. He was falling. Hard.

 

_Why am I doing this to myself?_ Will thought desperately, staring at himself in the mirror. Staring back at him was a teenager with faded red-dyed hair, piercings and a black band merch hoodie. It had been through the wash so many times that it was impossible to read exactly which band it was. He knew though, and somehow Nico had too. My Chemical Romance was always recognisable.

 

Deciding that he had stayed long enough in the bathroom for it to be convincing that he hadn’t just contemplated 666 ways of isolating himself from the world because he was an emotional little shit, Will flushed the toilet and left the room. He took yet another deep breath before walking into his bedroom, where Nico was sitting on his office chair. “You look like a child when you swing your legs back and forth like that.”

 

Nico rummaged through his pockets and dug out a lollipop, ripping off the wrapper before sticking it into his mouth. “Do you mind that?” The look he sent Will made Will’s heart skip a beat. _How dare you be so adorable you little shit. This is unfair because I really want to kiss you but what if you don’t want to kiss me. This is kinda awkward._

 

“Not really no,” Will admitted, slumping down on his bed, shielding his eyes from the harsh bedroom ceiling light. “I can’t handle all the light. Nico, protect me!”

 

Nico sighed, kicking Will’s shin with one of his floofy-socks-clad feet. “Oi, you’ll survive. Get over it. It’s not like the ceiling light will give you a sunburn or anything like that.”

 

Will looked at him through the curly dark red fringe. “Are you honestly sure about that? Don’t test me here, I can manage everything if I try hard enough.”

 

“Sure, because you can fly. I’ll believe it when I see it, Solace,” Nico said, not quite able to hide the smile and giggles.

 

Will didn’t even reply to that as he stared at Nico, wondering what he was supposed to do with himself if Nico continued to act like the cutest person alive. God damn it, he wasn’t supposed to deal with complicated feelings like this. Love really was a weird thing.

 

He coughed, trying to clear his throat, although there was nothing to clear. “Is there anything, in particular, you want to eat? I can order pizza.”

 

Nico nodded. “No, pizza sounds good. I don’t eat it a lot, but pizza is always good.”

 

After discussing back and forth for a couple minutes trying to find something they both liked, they settled for something along the lines of ham and mushrooms (neither of them liked the mushrooms, but they were always peel-off-able so it wasn’t an issue.)

 

They ate the pizza discussing different tv shows they had watched recently, but it quickly turned into a heavy debate and rant about the shitty teachers at school.

 

“The English teacher, Mr Reynolds, is shit,” Nico argued. “He’s always mean to me because my English isn’t perfect and he hates Italians for a reason I don’t even understand. I think his life goal is to see me fail, although I wish him good luck with that since I manage to score well on every single test.”

 

“He’s not the best, no,” Will agreed. “But the history teacher is worse. Or, the worst, Blackwell, math. He’s the nightmare of nightmares. I don’t like him at all. Especially with the amount of homework he sent us home with this week.”

 

Nico nodded, a piece of cheese hanging out from the side of his mouth. Will had to fight the urge to remove it. “That was ridiculous. He can’t expect that much of us this early in the term.”

 

“Well, apparently he doesn’t care that we have to sit an hour longer every night solving equations and trig questions,” Will muttered, staring towards his backpack that was on the couch, containing the damned math homework they had barely made a dent in. “I need to go buy more paper Monday afternoon. I’m out of grid loose leaf paper after all the homework.”

 

“I can give you some if you remind me tomorrow night to put some more in my backpack,” Nico offered around a giant piece of pizza. “Should last you through Monday at least so that you can go after school and get more. I can come with you if you want to. I need to get more whiteout anyways so I might as well get it done then so I can stop borrowing yours all the time.”

 

Secretly, Will hadn’t minded that Nico had borrowed his whiteout, even though he was running low too. It wasn’t like both of them wrote everything perfectly on the first try.

 

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Will! We-el! I’m here! Behind you!” Nico shoved his way through the school corridor calling for Will. “Will! You big emo oaf, stop so I can catch up to you!”

 

Will turned and looked down, where he saw a pastel figure fight his way through the sea of navy and beige trying to get to him. He motioned towards the door in the gesture of “I will meet you outside so I don’t get killed by the rest of year 10 for causing a clot in the school circulatory system.

 

Will quickly got out of the door and closed the flap on his bag while waiting for Nico. He had barely lasted through the day, being out of whiteout (he had given the very rest to Nico and resorted to writing with pencil most of the day which he typically didn’t like but it was worth it), but he had somehow managed. He had remembered to bring his wallet (a personal achievement in his opinion, considering how forgetful he usually was) and his crush on Nico was (as always) _very_ present.

 

He looked at Nico fighting his way out of the mob of students either getting to a new class or leaving and smirked.

 

“Are you okay there, Nic?” Will said, teasingly bending down to the same height as Nico’s offended face. He knew that Nico was sensitive about his height, and truth be told, Will loved teasing him about it.

 

Nico scoffed and crossed his arms. “Don’t call me that.”

 

Will just laughed and ran his hand through his hair before staring in the general direction of the bus stop. “So, do you wanna go to the tiny bookstore around here somewhere and get paper and whiteout or do you wanna go to the city and get what we need and some coffee afterwards?”

 

Nico smiled up at him. “That sounds nice.”

 

And Will melted slightly inside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be a part three to this if I find the time and motivation to write it

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come find me on Tumblr: https://winglessvampire.tumblr.com/


End file.
